The Chosen One
by French Shark
Summary: What might've happen if Harry had died shortly after Voldemort? Read to find out... DH spoilers in here and there...I'm REALLY sorry for taking so long with Chapter Two, but it's SUPER long! I will, however, update it soon as I can! I'm limited on comps!
1. Chapter 1: The Flaw in the Plan

**Author's Note: BoldWords from books; **non-boldMY words

_Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and the text in BOLD…! (sure wish I did, though…)_

**The Chosen One**

Chapter One: _The Flaw In the Plan_

**"So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" whispered Harry. "Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does…I am the true master of the Elder Wand."**

**A red-gold glow burst suddenly across the enchanted sky above them as an edge of dazzling sun appeared over the sill of the nearest window. The light hit both of their faces at the same time, so that Voldemort's was suddenly a flaming blur. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he too yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco's wand:**

**"Avada Kedavra!"**

**"Expelliarmus!"**

**The bang was like a canon blast, and the golden flames that erupted between them, at the dead center of the circle they had been treading, marked the point where the spells collided. Harry saw Voldemort's green jet meet his own spell, saw the Elder Wand fly high, dark against the sunrise, spinning across the enchanted ceiling like the head of Nagini, spinning through the air toward the master it would not kill, who had come to take full possession of it at last. And Harry, with the unerring skill of the Seeker, caught the wand in his free hand as Voldemort fell backword, arms splayed, the slit pupils of the scarlet eyes rolling upward. Tom Riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality, his body feeble and shrunken, the white hands empty, the snakelike face vacant and unknowing. Voldemort was dead, killed by his own rebounding curse, and Harry stood with two wands in his hand, staring down at his enemy's shell.**

**One shivering second of silence, the shock of the moment suspended: and then the tumult broke around Harry as the screams and the cheers and the roars of the watchers rent the air. The fierce new sun dazzled the windows as they thundered toward him, and the first to reach him were Ron and Hermmione, and it was their arms that were wrapped around him, their incomprehensible shouts that deafened him. Then Ginny, Neville, and Luna were there, and then all the Weasleys and Hagrid, and Kingsley and McGonagall and Flitwick and Sprout, and Harry could not hear a word that anyone was shouting, nor tell whose hands were seizing him, pulling him, trying to hug some part of him, hundreds of them pressing in, all of them determined to touch the Boy Who Lived, the reason it was over at last-**

And then, suddenly, he fell to floor and passed out.


	2. Chapter 2: Back in the Hospital Wing

**Author's Note: BoldWords from books; **non-boldMY words

_Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and the text in BOLD…! (sure wish I did, though…) This is because I'm NOT Joanne Kathleen(?) Rowling!!  
_

**The Chosen One**

Chapter Two: _Back in the Hospital Wing _

"Harry?" a voice asked.  
"Is he okay?" another voice asked.  
Harry opened his eyes.  
"Harry! You're okay!" said the first voice-Hermione's, he realized-and she leaned over to hug him.  
"What happened?" Harry asked once she let go of him.  
"Well, you sort of fainted." Ron answered-he'd been the other voice.  
"Well, I sort of figured that much." Harry replied, "Where is everyone"  
"Great Hall. You know Madam Pomfrey hates numerous visitors." Hermione said.  
"So I'm in the hospital wing, eh? I didn't recognize it at first"  
"Us either. Death Eaters were pretty thorough with the place, weren't they"  
"Yeah." Harry said.  
He started to lean up in the bed.  
"So how long was I out of it?" he asked.  
"A couple of days, actually." Ron said.  
"That's another reason more people aren't here." Hermione interrupted, "A load of people have already gone home"  
"Do you think Madam Pomfrey'll let me leave anytime soon?" Harry asked.  
"Probably. I'll go tell her you're awake. See you in a minute." Hermione said, getting up and heading towards Madam Pomfrey's office.  
Harry sat up in the bed, as Hermione returned with Madam Pomfrey.  
"...I'm sorry, Miss Granger, but I'm afraid Mr. Potter will have to stay here a few more hours." Madam Pomfrey was saying.  
She turned to Harry.  
"You, Potter, are staying here the rest of the day to make sure you're all right. Ok, you two need to leave now"  
"But"  
"No excuses, Weasley. Get going"  
"Bye, Harry." Ron said.  
"See ya later, Harry." Hermione said.  
And they left.  
"Quite good friends you got there, Potter." Madam Pomfrey said, pouring a potion into a goblet for him. "Here, drink this. It'll help you go back to sleep"  
Harry obeyed. Sure enough, he was out in seconds.

**HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHHPHPHPHPHP**

**FLASHBACKS**

** "Good afternoon, Harry," said Dumbledore.  
Harry stared at him. Then he remembered: "Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! He's got the Stone! Sir, quick"  
"Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little behind the times," said Dumbledore. "Quirrell does not have the Stone"  
"Then who does? Sir, I"  
"Harry, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out"  
Harry swallowed and looked around him. He realized he must be in the hospital wing. He was lying in a bed with white linen sheets, and next to him was a table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop.  
"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Dumbledore, beaming. "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, natually, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it may not be very hygienic, and confiscated it.  
"How long have I been in here"  
"Three days. Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Granger will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried"  
"But, Sir, the Stone"  
"I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. I arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I must say"  
"You got there? You got Hermione's owl"  
"We must have crossed in midair. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you"  
"It was you"  
"I feared I might be too late"  
"You nearly were, I couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer"  
"Not the Stone, boy, you-the effort involved nearly killed you. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed"  
"Destroyed?" said Harry blankly. "But your friend-Nicolas Flamel"  
"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "You did do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best"  
"But that means he and his wife will die won't they"  
"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die"  
Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry's face.  
"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all-the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them"  
Harry lay there, lost for words. Dumbledore hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.  
"Sir?" said Harry. "I've been thinking...Sir-even if the Stone's gone, Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who"  
"Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself"  
"Yes, Sir. Well, Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he"  
"No, Harry, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share...not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies.Nevertheless, Harry, while you amy only have delayed his return to poer, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time- and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power"  
Harry nodded, but stopped quickly, because it made his head hurt. Then he said, "Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me...thinkgs I want to know the truth about"  
"The truth," Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie"  
"Well...Voldemort said that he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him from killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place"  
Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time.  
"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day...put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you are older...I know you hate to hear this...when you are ready, you will know"  
And Harry knew it would be no good to argue.  
"But why couldn't Quirrell touch me"  
"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign...to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good"  
Dumbledore now became very interested in a bird out on the windowsill, which gave Harry time to dry his eyes on the sheet. When he had found his voice again, Harry said, "And the Invisiblility Cloak-do you know who sent it to me"  
"Ah-your father happened to leave it in my possession, and I thought you might like it." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Useful things...your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here"  
"And there's something else"  
"Fire away"  
"Quirrell said Snape"  
"Professor Snape, Harry"  
"Yes, him-Quirrell said he hates me because he hated my father. Is that true"  
"Well, they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Mr. Malfoy. And then, your father did something Snape could never forgive"  
"What"  
"He saved his life"  
"What"  
"Yes..."said Dumbledore dreamily. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt...I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year because he felt that would make him and your father even. Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace"  
Harry tried to understand this but it made his head pound, so he stopped.  
"And Sir, there's one more thing"  
"Just the one"  
"How did I get the Stone out of the mirror"  
"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone-find it, but not use it-would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes...Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them-but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you"  
"He smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked and said, "Alas! Ear wax!"**

**HP **

**"Just five minutes," Harry pleaded.  
"Absolutely not"  
"You let Professor Dumbledore in"  
"Well, of course, that was the headmaster, quite different. You need rest"  
"I am resting, look, lying down and everything. Oh, go on, Madam Pomfrey"  
"Oh, very well," she said. "But five minutes only"  
And she let Ron and Hermione in.  
"Harry"  
Hermione looked ready to fling her arms around him again, but Harry was glad she held herself in as his head was still very sore.  
"Oh, Harry, we were sure you were going to-Dumbledore was so worried"  
"The whole school's talking about it," said Ron. "What really happened"  
It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is even more strange and exciting than the wild rumors. Harry told them everything: Quirrell; the mirror; the Stone; and Voldemort. Ron and Hermione were a very good audience; they gasped in all the right places, and when Harry told them what was under Quirrell's turban, Hermione screamed out loud.  
"So the Stone's gone?" said Ron finally. "Flamel's just going to die"  
"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that-what was it?-'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure"  
"I always said he was off his rocker," said Ron, looking quite impressed at how crazy his hero was.  
"So what happened to you two?" said Harry.  
"Well, I got back all right," said Hermione. "I brought Ron round-that took a while-and we were dashing up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the entrance hall-he already knew-he just said, 'Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' and hurtled off to the third floor"  
"D'you think he meant you to do it?" said Ron. "Sending you your father's cloak and everything"  
"Well," Hermione exploded, "if he did-I mean to say-that's terrible-you could have been killed"  
"No, it isn't," said Harry thoughtfully. "He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could"  
"Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right," said Ron proudly. "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course-you missed the last Quidditch, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you-but the food'll be good"  
At that moment, Madam Pomfrey bustled over.  
"You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT," she said firmly.**

**HP **

**"I want to go to the feast," he told Madam Pomfrey as she straightened his many candy boxes. "I can, can't I"  
"Professor Dumbledore says you are to be allowed to go," she said sniffily, as though in her opinion Professor Dumbledore didn't realize how risky feasts could be. "And you have another visitor"  
"Oh, good," said Harry. "Who is it"  
Hagrid sidled through the door as he spoke. As usual when he was indoors, Hagrid looked too big to be allowed. He sat down next to Harry, took one look at him, and burst into tears.  
"It's-all-my-ruddy fault!" he sobbed, his face in his hands. "I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know an' I told him! Yeh could've died! All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a Muggle"  
"Hagrid!" said Harry, shocked to see Hagrid shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking down into his beard. "Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow, this is Voldemort we're talking about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him"  
"Yeh could've died!" sobbed Hagrid. "An' don' say the name"  
"VOLDEMORT!" Harry bellowed, and Hagrid was so shocked, he stopped crying. "I've met him and I'm calling him by his name. Please cheer up, Hagrid, we saved the Stone, it's gone, he can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog, I've got load"  
Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said, "That reminds me. I've got yeh a present"  
"It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" said Harry anxiously, and at last Hagrid gave a weak chuckle.  
"Nah. Dumbledore gave me the day off yesterday to fix it. 'Course, he shoulda sacked me instead-anyway, got yeh this"  
It seemed to be a handsome, leather-covered book. Harry opened it curiously. It was full of wizard photographs. Smiling and waving at him from every page were his mother and father.  
"Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos...knew yeh didn' have any...d'yeh like it"  
Harry couldn't speak, but Hagrid understood.**

**HP**

** "You should have come straight to me!" she raged, holding up the sad, limp remainder of what, half an hour before, had been a working arm. "I can mend bones in a second-but growing them back"  
"You will be able to, won't you?" said Harry desperately.  
"I'll be able to, certainly, but it will be painful," said Madam Pomfrey grimly, throwing Harry a pair of pajamas. It took a while to stuff the rubbery, boneless arm into a sleeve.  
"How can you stick up for Lockhart now, Hermione, eh?" Ron called through the curtain as he pulled Harry's limp fingers through the cuff. "If Harry had wanted deboning he would have asked"  
"Anyone can make a mistake," said Hermione. "And it doesn't hurt anymore, does it, Harry?""No," said Harry, getting into bed. "But it doesn't do anything else either"  
As he swung himself onto the bed, his arm flapped pointlessly.  
Hermione and Madam Pomfrey came around the curtain. Madam Pomfrey was holding a large bottle of something labeled Skele-Gro.  
"You're in for a rough night," she said, pouring out a steaming beakerful and handing it to him. "Regrowing bones is a nasty business"  
So was taking the Skele-Gro. It burned Harry's mouth and throat as it went down, making him cough and splutter. Still tut-tutting about dangerous sports and inept teachers, Madam Pomfrey retreated, leaving Ron and Hermione to help Harry gulp down some water.  
"We won, though," said Ron, a grin breaking across his face.  
"That was some catch you made. Malfoy's face...he looked ready to kill"  
"I want to know how he fixed that Bludger," said Hermione darkly.  
"We can add that to the list of questions we'll ask him when we've taken the Polyjuice Potion," said Harry, sinking back onto his pillows. "I hope it tastes better than this stuff"  
"If it's got bits of Slytherins in it? You've got to be joking," said Ron.  
The door of the hospital wing burst open at that moment. Filthy and soaking wet, the rest of the Gryffindor team had arrived to see Harry.  
"Unbelievable flying, Harry," said George. "I've just seen Marcus Flint yelling at Malfoy. Something about having the Snitch on top of his head and not noticing. Malfoy didn't seem too happy"  
They had brought cakes, sweets, and bottles of pumpkin juice; they gathered around Harry's bed and were just getting started on what promised to be a good party when Madam Pomfrey came storming over, shouting, "This boy needs rest, he's got thirty-three bones to regrow! Out! OUT"  
And Harry was left alone, with nothing to distract him from the stabbing pains in his limp arm.**

**HP **

**Harry woke quite suddenly in the pitch blackness and gave a small yelp of pain: His arm now felt full of large splinters. For a second, he thought that was what had woken him. Then, with a thrill of horror, he realized that someone was sponging his forehead in the dark.  
"Get off!" he said loudly, and then, "Dobby"  
The houself's goggling tennis ball eyes were peering at Harry through the darkness. A single tear was running down his long, pointed nose.  
"Harry Potter came back to school," he whispered miserably. "Dobby warned and warned Harry Potter. Ah sir, why didn't you heed Dobby? Why didn't Harry Potter go back home when he missed the train"  
Harry heaved himself up on his pillows and pushed Dobby's sponge away.  
"What're you doing here?" he said. "And how did you know I missed the train"  
Dobby's lip trembled and Harry was seized be a sudden suspicion.  
"It was you!" he said slowly. "You stopped the barrier from letting us through"  
"Indeed yes, sir," said Dobby, nodding his head vigorously, ears flapping. "Dobby hid and watched for Harry Potter and sealed the gateway and Dobby had to iron his hands afterward"-he showed Harry ten long, bandaged fingers-"but Dobby didn't care, sir, for he thought Harry Potter was safe, and never did Dobby dream that Harry Potter would get to school another way"  
He was rocking backward and forward, shaking his ugly head.  
"Dobby was so shocked when he heard Harry Potter was back at Hogwarts, he let his master's dinner burn! Such a flogging Dobby never had, sir"  
Harry slumped back onto his pillows.  
"You nearly got Ron and me expelled," he said fiercely. "You'd better get lost before my bones come back, Dobby, or I might strangle you"  
Dobby smiled weakly.  
"Dobby is used to death threats, sir. Dobby gets them five times a day at home"  
He blew his nose on a corner of the filthy pillowcase he wore, looking so pathetic that Harry felt his anger ebb awar in spite of himself.  
"Why d'you wear that thing, Dobby?" he asked curiously.  
"This, sir?" said Dobby, plucking at the pillowcase. "'Tis a mark of the house-elf's enslavement, sir. Dobby can only be freed if his masters present him with clothes, sir. The family is careful not to pass Dobby even a sock, sir, for then he would be free to leave their house forever"  
Dobby mopped his bulging eyes and said suddenly, "Harry Potter must go home! Dobby thought his Bludger would be enough to make"  
"Your Bludger?" said Harry, anger rising once more. "What d'you mean, your Bludger? You made that Bludger try and kill me"  
"Not kill you, sir, never kill you!" said Dobby, shocked. "Dobby wants to save Harry Potter's life! Better sent home, grievously injured, than remain here sir! Dobby only wanted Harry Potter hurt enough to be sent home"  
"Oh, is that all?" said Harry angrily. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you wanted me sent home in pieces"  
"Ah, if Harry Potter only knew!" Dobby groaned, more tears dripping onto his ragged pillowcase. "If he knew what he means to us, to the lowly, the enslaved, we dregs of the magical world! Dobby remembers how it was when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was at the height of his powers, sir! We house-elfs were treated like vermin, sir! Of course, Dobby is still treated like that, sir," he admitted, drying his face on the pillowcase. "But mostly, sir, life has improved for my kind since you triumphed over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Harry Potter survived, and the Dark Lord's power was broken, and it was a new dawn, sir, and Harry Potter shone like a beacon of hope for those of us who thought the Dark days would never end, sir...And now, at Hogwarts, terrible things are to happen, are perhaps happening already, and Dobby cannot let Harry Potter stay here now that history is to repeat itself, now that the Chamber of Secrets is open once more"  
Dobby froze, horrorstruck, then grabbed Harry's water jug from his bedside table and cracked it over his own head, toppling out of sight. A second later, he crawled back onto the bed, cross-eyed, muttering "Bad Dobby, very bad Dobby"  
"So there is a Chamber of Secrets?" Harry whispered. "And-did you say it's been opened before? Tell me, Dobby"  
He seized the elf's bony wrist as Dobby's hand inched toward the water jusg. "But I'm not Muggle-born-how can I be in danger from the Chamber"  
"Ah, sir, ask no more, ask no more of poor Dobby," stammered the elf, his eyes huge in the dark. "Dark deeds are planned in this place, but Harry Potter must not meddle in this, sir, 'tis too dangerous"  
"Who is it, Dobby?" Harry said, keeping a firm hold on Dobby's wrist to stop him from hitting himself with the water just again. "Who's opened it? Who opened it last time"  
"Dobby can't, sir, Dobby can't, Dobby mustn't tell!" squealed the elf. "Go home, Harry Potter, go home"  
"I'm not going anywhere!" said Harry fiercely. "One of my best friends is Muggle-born; she'll be first in line if the Chamber really has been opened"  
"Harry Potter risks his own life for his friends!" moaned Dobby in a kind of miserable ecstacy. "So noble! So valient! But he must save himself, he must, Harry Potter must not"  
Dobby suddenly froze, his bat ears quivering. Harry heard it, too. There were footsteps coming down the passageway outside.  
"Dobby must go!" breathed the elf, terrified. The was a loud Crack, and Harry's fist was suddenly clenched on thin air. He slumped back into bed, his eyes on the dark doorway to the hospital wing as the footsteps drew nearer.  
Next moment, Dumbledore was backing into the dormitory, wearing a long woolly dressing gown and a nightcap. He was crrying one end of what looked like a statue. Professor McGonagall appeared a second later, carrying its feet. Together, they heaved it onto a bed.  
"Get Madam Pomfrey," whispereed Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall hurried past the end of Harry's bed, out of sight. Harry lay quite still, pretending to be asleep. He heard urgent voices, and the Professor McGonagall swept back into view, closely followed by Madam Pomfrey, was pulling a cardigan on over her nightdress. He heard a sharp intake of breath.  
"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey whispered to Dumbledore, bending over the statue on the bed.  
"Another attack," said Dumbledore. "Minerva found him on the stairs"  
"There was a bunch of grapes next to him," said Professor McGonagall. "We think he was trying to sneak up here to visit Potter"  
Harry's stomach gave a horrible lurch. Slowly and carefully, he raised himself a few inches so he could look at the statue on the bed. A ray of moonlight lay across its staring face. It was Colin Creevey. His eyes were wide and his hands were stuck up in front of him, holding his camera.  
"Petrified?" whispered Madam Pomfrey.  
"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "But I shudder to think...If Albus hadn't been on the way downstairs for hot chocolate-who knows what might have"  
The three of them stared down at Colin. Then Dumbledore leaned forward and wrenched the camera out of Colin's rigid grip.  
"You don't think he managed to get a picture of his attacker?" said Professor McGonagall eagerly.  
Dumbledore didn't answer. He opened the back of the camera.  
"Good gracious!" said Madam Pomfrey.  
A jet of steam had hissed out of the camera. Harry, three beds away, caught the acrid smell of burnt plastic.  
"Melted," said Madam Pomfrey wonderingly. "All melted"  
"What does this mean, Albus?" Professor McGonagaon asked urgently.  
"It means," said Dumbledore, "that the Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again"  
Madam Pomfrey clapped a hand to her mouth. Professor McGonagall stared at Dumbledore.  
"But, Albus...surely...who"  
"The question is not who," said Dumbledore, his eyes on Colin. "The question is how"  
And from what Harry could see of McGonagall's shadowy face, she didn't understand this any better than he did.**

**HP **

**Harry woke up on Sunday morning to find the dormitory blazing with winter sunlight and his arm reboned, but very stiff. He sat up quickly and looked over at Colin's bed, but it had been blocked from view by the high curtains Harry had changed behind yesterday. Seeing that he was awake, Madam Pomfrey came bustling over with a breakfast tray and then began bending and stretching his arm and fingers.  
"All in order," she said as he clumsily fed himself porridge left-handed. "When you've finished eating, you may leave"  
Harry dressed as quickly as he could and hurried off to Gryffindor Tower, desperate to tell Ron and Hermione about Colin and Dobby.**

**HP**

** "Lucky the ground was so soft"  
"I thought he was dead for sure"  
"But he didn't even break his glasses"  
Harry could hear the voices whispering, but they made no sense whatsoever. He didn't have a clue where he was, or how he'd got there, or what he'd been doing before he got there. All he knew was that every inch of him was aching as though it had been beaten.  
"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life"  
Scariest...the scariest thing...hooded black figures...col...screaming.  
Harry's eyes snapped open. He was lying in the hospital wing. The Gryffindor Quidditch team, spattered with mud from head to foot, was gathered around his bed. Ron and Hermione were also there, looking as though they'd just climbed out of a swimming pool.  
"Harry!" said Fred, who looked extremely white underneath the mud. "How're you feeling"  
It was as though Harry's memory was on fast forward. The lightning-the Grim-the Snitch-and the dementors.  
"What happened?" he said, sitting up so suddenly they all gasped.  
"You fell off," said Fred. "Must've been-what-fifty feet"  
"We'd thought you'd died," said Alicia, who was shaking.  
Hermione made a small, squeaky noise. Her eyes were extremely bloodshot.  
"But the match," said Harry. "What happened? Are we doing a replay"  
No one said anything. The horrible truth sank into Harry like a stone.  
"We didn't-lose"  
"Diggory got the Snitch," said George. "Just after you fell. He didn't realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Whanted a rematch. But they won fair and square...even Wood admits it"  
"Where is Wood?" said Harry, suddenly realizing he wasn't there.  
"Still in the showers," said Fred. "We think he's trying to drown himself"  
Harry put his face to his knees, his hands gripping his hair. Fred grabbed his shoulder and shook it roughly.  
"C'mon, Harry, you've never missed the Snitch before"  
"There had to be one time you didn't get it," said George.  
"It's not over yet," said Fred. "We lost by a hundred points, right? So if Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw and we beat Ravenclaw and Slytherin"  
"Hufflepuff'll have to lose by at least two hundred points," said George.  
"But if they beat Ravenclaw"  
"No way, Ravenclaw is too good. But if Slytherin loses against Hufflepuff"  
"It all depends on the points-a margin of a hundred either way"  
Harry lay there, not saying a word. They had lost...for the first time ever, he had lost a Quidditch match.  
After ten minutes or so, Madam Pomfrey came over to tell the team to leave him in peace.  
"We'll come and see you later," Fred told him. "Don't beat yourself up, Harry, you're still the best Seeker we've ever had"  
The team trooped out, trailing mud behind them. Madam Pomfrey shut the door behind them, looking disapointing. Ron and Hermione moved nearer to Harry's bed.  
"Dumbledore was really angry," Hermione said in a quaking voice. "I've never seen him like that before. He ran onto the field as you hit the ground. Then he whirled his wand at the dementors. Shot silver stuff at them. They left the stadium right away...He was furious they'd come onto the grounds. We heard him"  
"Then he majicked you onto a stretcher," said Ron. "And walked up to school with you floating on it. Everyone thought you were"  
His voice faded, but Harry hardly noticed. He was thinking about what the dementors had done to him...about the screaming voice. He lookede up and saw Ron and Hermione looking at him so anxiously that he quickly cast around for something matter-of-fact to say.  
"Did someone get my Nimbus"  
Ron and Hermione looked quickly at each other.  
"Er"  
"What?" said Harry, looking from one to the other.  
"Well...when you fell off, it got blown away," said Hermione hesitantly.  
"And"  
"And it hit-it hit-oh, Harry-it hit the Whomping Willow"  
Harry's insides lurched. The Whomping Willow was a very violent tree that stood alone in the middle of the grounds.  
"And?" he said, dreading the answer.  
"Well, you know the Whomping Willow," said Ron. "It-it doesn't like being hit"  
"Professor Flitwick brought it back just before you came around," said Hermione in a very small voice.  
Slowly, she reached down for a bag at her feet, turned it upside down, and tipped a dozen bits of splintered wood and twig onto the bed, the only remains of Harry's faithful, finally beaten broomstick.**

**HP**

** "Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping Harry in the hospital wing for the rest of the weekend. He didn't argue or complain, but he wouldn't let her throw away the shattered remnants of his Nimbus Two Thousand. He knew he was being stupid, knew that the Nimbus was beyond repair, but Harry couldn't help it; he felt as though he'd lost one of his best friends.  
He had a stream of visitors, all intent on cheering him up. Hagrid sent him a bunch of earwiggy flowers that looked like yellow cabbages and Ginny Weasley, blushing furiously, turned up with a get-well card she had made herself, which sang shrilly unless Harry kept it shut under his bowl of fruit. The Gryffindor team visited again on Sunday morning, this time accomponied by Wood, who told Harry (in a hollow, dead sor of voice) that he didn't blame him in the slightest. Ron and Hermione left Harry's bedside only at night. But nothing anyone said or did could make Harry feel any better, because they knew only half of what was troubling him.  
He hadn't told anyone about the Grim, not even Ron and Hermione, because he knew Ron would panic and Hermione would scoff. The fact remained, however, that it had now appeared twice, and both appearances had been followed by near-fatal accidents; the first time, he had nearly been run over by the Knight Bus; the second, fallen fifty feet from his broomstick. Was the Grim going to haunt him until he actually died? Was he going to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder for the beast?  
And then there were the dementors.. Harry felt sick and humiliated every time he thought of them. Everyone said the dementors were horrible, but no one else collapsed every time they went near one. No one else heard echoes in their head of their dying parents.  
Because Harry knew who that screaming voice belonged to now. He had heard her words, heard them over and over again during the night hours in the hospital wing while he lay awake, staring at the strips of moonlight on the ceiling. When the dementors approached him, he heard the last moments of his mother's life, her attempts to protect him, Harry, from Lord Voldemort, and Lord Voldemort's laughter before he murdered her...Harry dozed fitfully, sinking into dreams full of clammy, rotted hands and petrified pleading, jerking awake, to dwell again on his mother's voice.**

**HP **

**"Shocking business...shocking...miracle none of them died...never heard the like...by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape"  
"Thank you, Minister"  
"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wrangle it"  
"Thank you very much indeed, Minister"  
"Nasty cut you've got there...Black's work, I suppose"  
"As a matter of fact, it was Potter, Weasley, and Granger, Minister"  
"No"  
"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Cunfundus Charm, to judge by their behavior. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. They weren't responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have permitted Black to escape...They obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed. They've got away with a great deal before now...I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves...and of course Potter has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster"  
"Ah, well,Snape...Harry Potter, you know...we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned"  
"And yet-is it good for him to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat him like any other student. And any other student would be suspended-at the very least-for leading his friends into such danger. Consider, Minister-against all school rules-after all the precautions put in place for his protection-out-of-bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer-and I have reason to believe he has been visting Hogsmeade illegally too"  
"Well, well...we shall see, Snape, we shall see...The boy has undoubtedly been foolish"  
Harry lay listening with his eyes tight shut. He felt very groggy. The words he was hearing seemed to be travelling very slowly from his ears to his brain, so that it was difficutle to understand...His limbs felt like lead; his eyelids too heavy to lift...He wanted to lie here, on this comfortable bed, forever.  
"What amazes me most is the behavior of the dementors...you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape"  
"No, Minister...by the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances"  
"Extraordinary. And yet, Black, and Harry, and the girl"  
"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers, and brought them all straight back to the castle"  
There was a pause. Harry's brain seemed to be moving a little faster, and as it did, a gnawing sensation grew in the pit of his stomach.  
He opened his eyes.  
Everythin was slightly blurred. Somebody had removed his glasses. He was lying in the dark hospital wing. At the very end of the ward, he could make out Madam Pomfrey with her back to him, bending over a bed. Harry squinted. Ron's red hair was visible beneath Madam Pomfrey's arm.  
Harry moved his head over on the pillow. In the bed to his right lay Hermione. Moonlight was falling across her bed. Her eyes were open too. She looked petrified, and when she saw that Harry was awake, pressed a finger to her lips, then pointed to the hospital wing door. It was ajar, and the voices of Cornelius Fudge and Snape were coming through it from the corridor outside.  
Madam Pomfrey now came walking briskly up the dark ward to Harry's bed. He turned to look at her. She was carrying the largest block of chocolate he had ever seen in his life. It looked like a small boulder.  
"Ah, you're awake!" she said briskly. She placed the chocolate on Harry's bedside table and began breaking it apart with a small hammer.  
"How's Ron?" said Harry and Hermione together.  
"He'll live," said Madam Pomfrey grimly. "As for you two...you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're-Potter, what do you think you're doing"  
Harry was sitting up, putting his glasses back on, and picking up his wand.  
"I need to see the headmaster," he said.  
"Potter," said Madam Pomfrey soothingly, "it's all right. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the Kiss any moment now"  
"WHAT"  
Harry jumped up out of bed; Hermione had done the same. But his shout had been heard in the corridor outside; next second, Cornelius Fudge and Snape had entered the ward.  
"Harry, Harry, what's this?" said Fudge, looking agitated. "You should be in bed-has he had any chocolate?" he asked Madam Pomfrey anxiously.  
"Minister, listen!" Harry said. "Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's"  
But Fudge was shaking his head with a small smile on his face.  
"Harry, Harry, you're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under control"  
"YOU HAVEN'T!" Harry yelled. "YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN"  
"Minister, listen, please," Hermione said; she had hurried to Harry's side and was gazing imploringly into Fude's face. "I saw him too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and"  
"You see, Minister?" said Snape. "Confunded, both of them...Black's done a very good job on them"  
"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" Harry roared.  
"Minister! Professor!" said Madam Pomfrey angrily. "I must insist that you leave. Potter is my patient, and he should not be distressed"  
"I'm not distressed, I'm trying to tell them what happened!" Harry said furiously. "If they'd just listen"  
But Madam Pomfrey suddenly stuffed a large chunk of chocolate into Harry's mouth; he choked, and she seized the opportunity to force him back onto the bed.  
"Now, please, Minister, these children need care. Please leave"  
The door opened again. It was Dumbledore. Harry swallowed his mouthful of chocolate with great difficulty and got up again.  
"Professor Dumbleore, Sirius Black"  
"For heaven's sake!" said Madam Pomfrey hysterically. "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist"  
"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter and Miss Granger," said Dumbledore calmly. "I have just been talking to Sirius Black"  
"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind?" spat Snape. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive"  
"That, indeed, is Black's story," said Dumbleore, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles.  
"And does my evidence count for nothing?" snarled Snape. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him on the grounds"  
"That was because you were knocked out, Proffesor!" said Hermione earnestly. "You didn't arrive in time to hear"  
"Miss Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE"  
"Now, Snape," said Fudge, startled, "the young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances"  
"I would like to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," said Dumbledore abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy-please leave us"  
"Headmaster!" sputtered Madam Pomfrey. "They need treatment, they need rest"  
"This cannot wait," said Dumbledore. "I must insist"  
Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end olf the war, slamming the door behind her. Fudge consulted the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.  
"The dementors should have arrived by now," he said. "I'll go and meet them. Dumbleore, I'll see you upstairs"  
He crossed to the door and held it open for Snape, but Snape hadn't moved.  
"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face.  
"I wish to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," Dumbledore repeated.  
Snape took a step toward Dumbledore.  
"Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen," he breathed. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me"  
"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly.  
Snape turned on his heel and marched through the dorr Fudge was still holding. It closed behind them, and Dumbledore turned to Harry and Hermione. They both burst into speech at the same time.  
"Professor, Black's telling the truth-we saw Pettigrew"  
"-he escaped when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf"  
"-he's a rat"  
"-Pettigrew's front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off"  
"Pettigrew attacked Ron, it wasn't Sirius"  
But Dumbledore held up his hand to stem the flood of explanations.  
"It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me, because there is very little time," he said quietly. "There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word-and the word of two thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody. A street full of eyewitnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper"  
"Professor Lupin can tell you-" Harry said, unable to stop himself.  
"Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest, unable to tell anyone anything. By the time he is human again, it will be too late, Sirius will be worse than dead. I might add that werewolves are so mistrusted by most of our kind that his support will count for very little-and the fact the he and Sirius are old friends"  
"But"  
"Listen to me, Harry. It is too late, you understand me? You must see that Professor Snape's version of events is far more convincing than yours"  
"He hates Sirius," Hermione said desperately. "All because of some stupid trick Sirius played on him"  
"Sirius has not acted like an innocent man . The attack on the Fat Lady-entering Gryffindor Tower with a knife- without Pettigrew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius's sentence"  
"But you believe us"  
"Yes, I do," said Dumbledore quietly. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic"  
Harry stared up into the grave face and felt as though the ground beneath him were falling sharply away. He had grown used to the idea that Dumbledore could solve anything. He had expected Dumbledore to pull some amazing solution out of the air. But no...their last hope was gone.  
"What we need," said Dumbledore slowly, and his light blue eyes moved form Harry to Hermione, "is more time"  
"But-" Hermione began. And then her eyes became very round. "OH"  
"Now, pay attention," said Dumbledore, speaking very low, and very clearly. "Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, both of you: you-must-not be seen"  
Harry didn't have a clue what was going on. Dumbledore had turned on his heel and looked back as he reached the door.  
"I am going to lock you in. It is-" he consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck"  
"Good luck?" Harry repeated as the door closed behind Dumbledore. "Three turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed to do"  
But Hermione was fumbling with the neck of her robe, pulling from beneath them a very long, very fine gold chain.  
"Harry, come here," she said urgently. "Quick"  
Harry moved toward her, completely bewildered. She was holding the chain out. He saw a tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging from it.  
"Here"  
She had thrown the chain around his neck too.  
"Ready?" she said breathlessly.  
"What are we doing?" Harry said, completely lost.  
Hermione turned the hourglass over three times.**

**HP **

**Harry and Hermione slipped back inside the dormitory. It was empty except for Ron, who was still lying motionless in the end bed. As the lock clicked behind them, Harry and Hermione crept back to their own beds, Hermione tucking the Time-Turner back under her robes. A moment later, Madam Pomfrey came striding back out of her office.  
"Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now"  
She was in a very bad mood. Harry and Hermione thought it best to accept their chocolate quietly. Madam Pomfrey stood over them, making sure they ate it. But Harry could hardly swallow. He and Hermione were waiting, listening, their nerves jangling...And then, as they both took a fourth piece of chocolate from Madam Pomfrey, they heard a distant roar of fury echoing from somewhere above them.  
"What was that?" said Madam Pomfrey in alarm.  
Now they could hear angry voices, growing louder and louder. Madam Pomfrey was staring at the door.  
"Really-they'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're doing"  
Harry was trying to hear what the voices were saying. They were drawing nearer-  
"He must have Disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out"  
"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape roared, now very close at hand. "YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS-HAS-SOMETHING-TO-DO-WITH-POTTER"  
"Severus-be reasonable-Harry has been locked up"  
BAM.  
The door of the hospital wing burst open.  
Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore alone looked calm. Indeed, he looked as though he was quite enjoying himself. Fudge appeared angry. But Snape was beside himself.  
"OUT WITH IT, POTTER!" he bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO"  
"Professor Snape!" shrieked Madam Pomfrey. "Control yourself"  
"See here, Snape, be reasonable," said Fudge. "This door's been locked, we just saw"  
"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing at Harry and Hermione. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth.  
"Calm down, man!" Fudge barked. "You're talking nonsense"  
"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER!" shrieked Snape. "HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT"  
"That will do, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been lockeed since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds"  
"Of course not!" said Madam Pomfrey, bristling. "I would have heard them"  
"Well, there you have it, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further"  
Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked at his behavior, to Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling behind his glasses. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind him, and stormed out of the ward.  
"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," said Fudge, staring after him. "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore"  
"Oh, he's not unbalanced," said Dumbledore quietly. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment"  
"He's not the only one!" puffed Fudge. "The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock! Well...I'd better go and notify the Ministry"  
"And the dementors?" said Dumbledore. "They'll be removed from the school, I trust"  
"Oh, yes, they'll have to go," said Fudge, running his fingers distractedly through his hair. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on an innocent boy...Completely out of control...no, I'll have them packed off back to Askaban tonight...Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance"  
"Hagrid would like that," said Dumbledore, smiling at Harry and Hermione. As he and Fudge left the dormitory, Madam Pomfrey hurried to the door and locked it again. Muttering angrily to herself, she headed back to her office.  
There was a low moan form the other end of the ward. Ron had woken up. They could see him sitting up, rubbing his head, looking around.  
"What-what happened?" he groaned. "Harry? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on"  
Harry and Hermione looked at each other.  
"You explain," said Harry, helping himself to some more chocolate.**

**HP**

** "Right then, Potter, the first aid tent, please..." said Professor McGonagall.**


	3. Chapter 2: Back in the Hospital Wing 2

A/N: Thanks for being patient with me about this story. I'm sorry that this is so little right now, but this is all I could manage to put together at the moment. Right now, I'm not able to use my computer at home, so I'm having to do it at school and the library's unfortunately not open very long…I will continue to try to update it as much and as soon as possible, though!!! Please, please, PLEASE leave me reviews!!! Thanks again!

The Chosen One

Chapter Two: Back in the Hospital Wing (cont.)

**~HP~**

"**Right then, Potter, the first aid tent, please…" said Professor McGonagall.**

"**Harry walked out of the enclosure, still panting, and saw Madam Pomfrey standing at the mouth of a second tent, looking worried.**

"**Dragons!" she said, in a disgusted tone, pulling Harry inside. The tent was divided into cubicles; he could make out Cedric's shadow through the canvas, but Cedric didn't seem to be badly injured; he was sitting up, at least. Madam Pomfrey examined Harry's shoulder, talking furiously all the while. "Last year dementors, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next? You're very lucky…this is quite shallow…it'll need cleaning before I heal it up, though…"**

**She cleaned the cut with a dab of some liquid that smoked and stung, but then poked his shoulder with her wand, and he felt it heal instantly.**

"**Now, just sit quietly for a minute—**_**sit**_**! And then you can go and get your score."**

**She bustled out of the tent and he heard her go next door and say, "How does it feel now, Diggory?"**

**Harry didn't want to sit still: He was too full of adrenaline. He got to his feet, wanting to see what was going on outside, but before he'd reached the mouth of the tent, two people had come darting inside—Hermione, followed closely by Ron.**

"**Harry, you were brilliant!" Hermione said squeakily. There were fingernail marks on her face where she had been clutching it in fear. "You were amazing! You really were!"**

**But Harry was looking at Ron, who was very white and staring at Harry as though he were a ghost.**

"**Harry," he said, very seriously, "whoever put your name in that goblet-I-I reckon they're trying to do you in!"**

**It was as though the last few weeks had never happened—as though Harry were meeting Ron for the first time, right after he'd been made champion.**

"**Caught on, have you?" said Harry coldly. "Took you long enough."**

**Hermione stood nervously between them, looking from one to the other. Ron opened his mouth uncertainly. Harry knew Ron was about to apologize and suddenly he found he didn't need to hear it.**

"**It's okay," he said, before Ron could get the words out. "Forget it."**

"**No," said Ron, "I shouldn't've—"**

"_**Forget it**_**," Harry said.**

**Ron grinned nervously at him, and Harry grinned back.**

**Hermione burst into tears.**

"**There's nothing to cry about!" Harry told her, bewildered.**

"**You two are so **_**stupid**_**!" she shouted, stamping her foot on the ground, tears splashing down her front. Then, before either of them could stop her, she had given both of them a hug and dashed away, now positively howling.**

"**Barking mad," said Ron, shaking his head. "Harry, c'mon, they'll be putting up your scores…"**

**Picking up the golden egg and his Firebolt, feeling more elated than he would have believed possible an hour ago, Harry ducked out of the tent, Ron by his side, talking fast.**

**~HP~**

**When Dumbledore pushed open the door, Harry saw Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Ron, and Hermione grouped around a harassed-looking Madam Pomfrey. They appeared to be demanding to know where Harry was and what had happened to him. All of them whipped around as Harry, Dumbledore, and the black dog entered, and Mrs. Weasley let out a kind of muffled scream.**

"**Harry! Oh Harry!"**

**She started to hurry toward him, but Dumbledore moved between them.**

"**Molly," he said, holding up a hand, "please listen to me for a moment. Harry has been through a terrible ordeal tonight. He has just had to relive it for me. What he needs now is sleep, and pleace, and quiet. If he would like you all to stay with him," he added, looking around at Ron, Hermione, and Bill too, "you may do so. But I do not want you questioning him until he is ready to answer, and certainly not this evening."**

**Mrs. Weasley nodded. She was very white. She rounded on Ron, Hermione, and Bill as though they were being noisy, and hissed, "Did you hear? He needs quiet!"**

"**Headmaster, " said Madam Pomfrey, staring at the great black dog that was Sirius, "may I ask what—"**

"**This dog will be remaining with Harry for a while," said Dumbledore simply. "I assure you, he is extremely well trained. Harry—I will wait while you get into bed."**

**Harry felt an inexpressible sense of gratitude to Dumbledore for asking the others not to question him. It wasn't as though he didn't want them there; but the thought of explaining it all over again, the idea of reliving it one more time, was more than he could stand.**

**"I will be back to see you as soon as I have met with Fudge, Harry," said Dumbledore. "I would like you to remain here tomorrow until I have spoken to the school." He left.**

**As Madam Pomfrey led Harry to a nearby bed, he caught sight of the real Moody lying motionless in a bed at the far end of the room. His wooden leg and magical eye were lying on the bedside table.**

**"Is he okay?" Harry asked.**

**"He'll be fine," said Madam Pomfrey, giving Harry some pajamas and putting screens around him. He took off his robes, pulled on the pajamas, and got into bed. ROn, Hermione, Bill, Mrs. Weasley, and the blac dog came around the screen and settled themselves in chairs on either side of him. Ron and Hermione were looking at him almost cautiously, as though scared of him.**

**"I'm all right," he told them. "Just tired."**

**Mrs. Weasley's eyes filled with tears as she smoothed his bedcovers unnecessarily.**

**Madam Pomfrey, who had bustled off to her office, returned holding a small bottle of some purple potion and a bottle.**

**"You'll need to drink all of this, Harry," she said. "It's a potion for dreamless sleep."**

**Harry took the goblet and drank a few mouthfuls. He felt himself becoming drowsy at once. Everything around him became hazy; the lamps around the hospital wing seemed to be winking at him in a friendly way through the screen around his bed; his body felt as though it was sinking deeper into the warmth of the feather mattress. Before he could finish the potion, before he could say another word, his exhaustion had carried him off to sleep.**

**~HP~**

**Harry woke up, so warm, so very sleepy, that he didn't open his eyes, wanting to drop off again. The room was still dimly lit; he was sure it was still nighttime and had a feeling that he couldn't have been asleep very long.**

**Then he heard whispering around him.**

**"They'll wake him up if they don't shut up!"**

**"What are they shouting about? Nothingelse can have happened, can it?"**

**Harry opened his eyes blearily. Someone had removed his glasses. He could see the outlines of Mrs. Weasley and Bill close by. Mrs. Weasley was on her feet.**

**"That's Fudge's voice," she whispered. "And that's Minerva McGonagall, isn't it? But what are they arguing about?"**

**Now Harry could hear them too: people shouting and running toward the hospital wing.**

**"Regrettable, but all the same, Minerva-" Cornelius Fudge was saying loudly.**

**"You should never have brought it inside the castle!" yelled Professor McGonagall. "When Dumbledore finds out-"**

**Harry heard the hospital doors burst open. Unnoticed by any of the people around his bed, all of whom were staring at the door as Bill pulled back the screens, Harry sat up and put his glasses back on.**

**Fudge came striding up the ward. Professors McGonagall and Snape were at his heels.**

**"Where's Dumbledore?" Fudge demanded of Mrs. Weasley.**

**"He's not here," said Mrs. Weasley angrily. "This is a hospital wing, Minister, don't you think you'd do better to-"**

**But the door opened, and Dumbledore came sweeping up the ward.**

**"What has happened?" said Dumbledore sharply, looking from Fudge to Professor McGonagall. "Why are you disturbing these people? Minerva, I'm surprised at you-I asked you to stand guard over Barty Crouch-"**

**"There is no need to stand guard over him anymore, Dumbledore!" she shrieked. "The Minister has seen to that!"**

**Harry had never seen Professor McGonagall lose control like this. There were angry blotches of color in her cheeks, and her hands were balled into fists; she was trembling with fury.**

**"When we told Mr. Fudge that we had caught the Death Eater responsible for tonight's events," said Snape, in a low voice, "he seemed to feel his personal safety was in question. He insisted on summoning a dementor to accompany him into the castle. He brought it up to the office where Barty Crouch-"**

**"I told him you would not agree, Dumbledore!" Professor McGonagall fumed. "I told him you would never allow dementors to set foot inside the castle, but-"**

**"My dear woman!" roared Fudge, who likewise looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him, "as Minister of Magic, it is my decision whether I wish to bring protection with me when interviewing a possibly dangerous-"**

**But Professor McGonagall's voice drowned Fudge's.**

**"The moment that-that thing entered the room," she screamed, pointing at Fudge, trembling all over, "it swooped down on Crouch and-and-"**

**Harry felt a small chill in his stomach as Professor McGonagall struggled to find words to describe what had happened. He did not need her to finish her sentence. He knew what the dementor must have done. It had administered its fatal Kiss to Barty Crouch. It had sucked his soul out through his mouth. He was worse than dead.**

**"By all accounts, he is no loss!" blustered Fudge. "It seems he has been responsible for several deaths!"**

**"But he cannot now give testimony, Cornelius," said Dubledore. He was staring hard at Fudge, as though seeing him plainly for the first time. "He cannot give evidence about why he killed those people."**

**"Why he killed them? Well, that's no mystery, is it?" blustered Fudge. "He was a raving lunatic! From what Minerva and Severus have told me, he seems to have thought he was doing it all on You-Know-Who's instructions!"**

**"Lord Voldemort _was_ giving him instructions, Cornelius," Dumbledore said. "Those people's deaths were mere by-products of a plan to restore Voldemort to full strength again. The plan succeeded. Voldemort has been restored to his body."**

**Fudge looked as though someone had just swung a heavy wieght into his face. Dazed and blinking, he stared back at Dumbledore as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. He began to sputter, still goggling at Dumbledore.**

**"You-Know-Who...returned? Preposterous. Come now, Dumbledore..."**

**"As Minerva and Severus have doubtless told you," said Dumbledore, "we heard Barty Crouch confess. Under the influence of Veritaserum, he told us how he was smuggled out of Askaban, and how Voldemort--learning of his continued existence from Bertha Jorkins--went to free him from his father and used him to capture Harry. The plan worked, I tell you. Crouch has helped Voldemort to return."**

**"See here, Dumbledore," said Fudge, and Harry was astonished to see a slight smile dawning on his face, "you--you can't seriously believe that. You-Know-Who--back? Come now, come now...certainly, Crouch may have _believed_ himself to be acting upon You-Know-Who's orders--but to take the word of a lunatic like that, Dumbledore..."**

**"When Harry touched the Triwizard Cup tonight, he transported straight to Voldemort," said Dumbledore steadily. "He witnessed Lord Voldemort's rebirth. I will explain it all to you if you will step up to my office."**

**Dumbledore glanced around at Harry and saw that he was awake, but shook his head and said, "I am afraid I cannot permit you to question Harry tonight."**

**Fudge's curious smile lingered. He too glanced at Harry, then looked back at Dumbledore, and said, "You are--er--prepared to take Harry's word on this, are you, Dumbledore?"**

**There was a moment's silence, which was broken by Sirius growling. His hackles were raised, and he was baring his teeth at Fudge.**

**"Certainly, I believe Harry," said Dumbledore. His eyes were blazing now. "I heard Crouch's confession, and I heard Harry's account of what happened after he touched the Triwizard Cup; the two stories make sense, they explain everything that has happened since Bertha Jorkins disappeared last summer."**

**Fudge still had that strange smile on his face. Once again, he glanced at Harry before answering.**

**"You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, on the word of a lunatic murderer, and a boy who...well..."**

**Fudge shot Harry another look, and Harry suddenly understood.**

**"You've been reading Rita Skeeter, Mr. Fudge," he said quietly.**

**Ron, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill all jumped. None of them had realized that Harry was awake. Fudge reddened slightly, but a defined and obstinate look came over his face.**

**"And if I have?" he said, looking at Dumbledore. "If I have discovered that you've been keeping certain facts about the boy very quiet? A Parselmouth, eh? And having funny turns all over the place--"**

**"I assume that you are referring to the pains Harry has been experiencing in his scar?" said Dumbledore coolly.**

**"You admit that he has been having these pains, then?" said Fudge quickly. "Headaches? Nightmares? Possibly--Hallucinations?"**

**"Listen to me, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, taking a step toward Fudge, and once again, he seemed to radiate that indefinable sense of power that Harry had felt after Dumbledore had Stunned young Crouch. "Harry is as sane as you or I. That scar upon his forehead has not addled his brains. I believe it hurts him when Lord Voldemort is close by, or feeling particularly murderous."**

**Fudge had taken half a step back from Dumbledore, but he looked no less stubborn.**

**"You'll forgive me, Dumbledore, but I've never heard of a curse scar acting as an alarm bell before..."**

**"Look, I saw Voldemort come back!" Harry shouted. He tried to get out of bed again, but Mrs. Weasley forced him back. "I saw the Death Eaters! I can give you their names! Lucius Malfor--"**

**Snape made a sudden movement, but as Harry looked at him, Snape's eyes flew back to Fudge.**

**"Malfoy was cleared!" said Fudge, visibly affronted. "A very old family--donations to excellent causes--"**

**"Macnair!" Harry continued.**

**"Also cleared! Now working for the Ministry!"**

**"Avery--Nott--Crabbe--Goyle--"**

**"You are merely repeating the names of those who were acquitted of being Death Eaters thirteen years ago!" said Fudge angrily. "You could have found those names in old reports of the trials! For heaven's sake, Dumbledore--the boy was full of some crackpot story at the end of last year too--his tales are getting taller, and you're still swallowing them--the boy can talk to snakes, Dumbledore, and you still think he's trustworthy?"**

**"You fool!" Professor McGonagall cried. "Cedric Diggory! Mr. Crouch! These deaths were not the random work of a lunatic!" **

**"I see no evidence to the contrary!" shouted Fudge, now matching her anger, his face purpling. "It seems to me that you are determined to start a panic that will destabilize everything we have worked for these last thirteen years!"**

**Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had always thought of Fudge as a kindly figure, a little blustering, a little pompous, but essentially good-natured. But now a short, angry wizard stood before him, refusing, point-blank, to accept the prospect of disrupion in his confortable and ordered world--to believe that Voldemort could have risen.**

**"Voldemort has returned," Dumbledore repeated. "If you accept that fact straightaway, Fudge, and take the necessary measures, we may still be able to save the situation. The first and most essential step is to remove Askaban from the control of the dementors--"**

**"Preposterous!" shouted Fudge again. "Remove the dementors? I'd be kicked out of office for suggesting it! Half of us only feel safe in our beds at night because we know the dementors are standing guard at Askaban!"**

**"The rest of us sleep less soundly in our beds, Cornelius, knowing that you have put Lord Voldemort's most dangerous supporters in the care of creatures who will join him the instant he asks them!" said Dumbledore. "They will not remain loyal to you, Fudge! Voldemort can offer them much more scope for their powers and their pleasures than you can! With the dementors behing him, and his old supporters returned to him, you will be hardpressed to stop him regaining the sort of power he had thirteen years ago!"**

**Fudge was opening and closing his mouth as though no words could express his outrage.**

**"The second step you must take--and at once," Dumbledore pressed on, "is to send envoys to the giants."**

**"Envoys to the giants?" Fudge shrieked, finding his tongue again. "What madness is this?"**

**"Extend them the hand of friendship, now, before it is too late," said Dumbledore, "or Voldemort will persuade them, as he did before, that he alone among wizards will give them their rights and their freedom!"**

**"You--you cannot be serious!" Fudge gasped, shaking his head and retreating further from Dumbledore. "If the magical community got wind that I had approached the giants--people hate them, Dumbledore--end of my career--"**

**"You are blinded," said Dumbledore, his voice rising now, the aura of power around him palpable, his eyes blazing once more, "by the love of the office you hold Cornelius! You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be! Your dementor has just destroyed the last remaining member of a pure-blood family as old as any--and see what that man chose to make of his life! I tell you now--take the steps I have suggested, and you will be remembered, in office or out, as one of the bravest and greatest Ministers of Magic we have ever known. Fail to act--and history will remember you as the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have tried to rebuild!"**

**"Insane," whispered Fudge, still backing away. "Mad..."**

**And then there was silence. Madam Pomfrey was standing frozen at the foot of Harry's bed, her hands over her mouth. Mrs. Weasley was still standing over Harry, her hand on his shoulder to prevent him from rising. Bill, Ron, and Hermione were staring at Fudge.**

**"If your determination to shut your eyes will carry you as far as this, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, "we have reached a parting of the ways. You must act as you see fit. And I--I shall act as I see fit."**

**Dumbledore's voice carried no hint of a threat; it sounded like a mere statement, but Fudge bristled as though Dumbledore were advancing upon him with a wand.**

**"Now, see here, Dumbledore," he said, waving a threatening finger, "I've given you free reign, always. I've had a lot of respect for you. I might not have agreed with some of your decisions, but I've kept quiet. There aren't many who'd have let you hire werewolves, or keep Hagrid, or decide what to teach your students without reference to the Ministry. But if you're going to work against me--"**

**"The only one against whom I intend to work," said Dumbledore, "is Lord Voldemort. If you are against him, then we remain, Cornelius, on the same side."**

**It seemed Fudge could think of no answer to this. He rocked backward and forward on his small feet for a moment and spun his bowler hat in his hands. Finally, he said, with a hint of plea in his voice, "He can't be back, Dumbledore, he just can't be..."**

**Snape strode forward, past Dumbledore, pulling up the left sleeve of his robes as he went. He stuck out his forearm and showed it to Fudge, who recoiled.**

**"There," said Snape harshly. "There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate, and Apparate, instantly, at his side. This Mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff's too. Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord's anger. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure of a welcome back into the fold."**

**Fudge stepped back from Snape too. He was shaking his head. He did not seem to have taken in a word Snape had said. He stared, apparently repelled by the ugly mark on Snape's arm, then looked up at Dumbledore and whispered, "I don't know what you and your staff are laying at, Dumbledore, but I have heard enough. I have no more to add. I will be in touch with you tomorrow, Dumbledore, to discuss the running of this school. I must return to the Ministry."**

**He had almost reached the door when he paused. He turned around, strode back down the dormitory, and stopped at Harry's bed.**

**"Your winnings," he said shortly, taking a large bag of gold out of his pocket and dropping it onto Harry's bedside table. "One thousand Galleons. There should have been a presentation ceremony, but the circumstances..."**

**He crammed his bowler hat onto his head and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The mometn he had disappeared, Dumbledore turned to look at the group around Harry's bed.**

**"There is work to be done," he said. "Molly...am I right in thinking that I can count on you and Arthur?"**

**"Of course you can," said Mrs. Weasley. She was white to the lips, but she looked resolute. "We know what Fudge is. It's Arthur's fondness for Muggles that has held him back at the Ministry all these years. Fudge thinks he lacks proper wizarding pride."**

**"Then I need to send a message to Arthur," said Dumbledore. "All those that we can persuade of the truth must be notified immediately, and he is so well placed to contact those at the Ministry who are not as shortsighted as Cornelius."**

**"I'll go to Dad," said Bill, standing up. "I'll go now."**

**"Excellent," said Dumbledore. "Tell him what has happened. Tell him I will be in direct contact with him shortly. He will need to be discreet, however. If Fudge thinks I am interfering at the Ministry--"**

**"Leave it to me," said Bill.**

**He clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder, kissed his mother on the cheek, pulled on his cloak, and strode quickly from the room.**

**"Minerva," said Dumbledore, turning to Professor McGonagall, "I want to see Hagrid in my office as soon as possible. Also--if she will consent to come--Madame Maxime."**

**Professor McGonagall nodded and left without a word.**

**"Poppy," Dumbledore said to Madam Pomfrey, "would you be very kind and go down to Professor Moody's office, where I think you will find a house-elf called Winky in considerable distress? Do what you can for her, and take her back to the kitchens. I think Dobby will look after her for us."**

**"Very--very well," said Madam Pomfrey, looking startled, and she too left.**

**Dumbledore made sure that the door was closed, and that Madam Pomfrey's footsteps had died away, before he spoke again.**

**"And now," he said, "it is time for two of our number to recognize each other for what they are. Sirius...if you could resume your usual form."**

**The great black dog looked at Dumbledore, then, in an instant, turned back into a man.**

**Mrs. Weasley screamed and leapt back from the bed.**

**"Sirius Black!" she shrieked, pointing at him.**

**"Mum, shut up!" Ron yelled. "It's okay!"**

**Snape had not yelled or jumped backward, but the look on his face owas one of mingled fury and horror.**

**"Him!" he snarled, staring at Sirius, whose face showed equal dislike. "What is he doing here?"**

**"He is here at my invitation," said Dumbledore, looking between them, "as are you, Severus. I trust you both. It is time for you to lay aside your old differences and trust each other."**

**Harry thought Dumbledore was asking for a near miracle. Sirius and Snape were eyeing each other with the utmost loathing.**

**"I will settle in the short term," said Dumbledore, with a bite of impatience in his voice, "for a lack of open hostility. You will shake hands. You are on the same side now. Time is short, and unless the few of us who know the truth stand united, there is no hope for any of us."**

**Very slowly--but still glaring at each other as though each wished the other nothing but ill--Sirius and Snape moved toward each other and shook hands. They let go extremely quickly.**

**"That will do to be going on with," said Dumbledore, stepping between them once more. "Now I have work for each of you. Fudge's attitude, though not unexpected, changes everything. Sirius, I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fltecher--the old crowd. Lie low at Lupin's for a whle; I will contact you there."**

**"But--" said Harry.**

**He wanted Sirius to stay. He did not want to have to say goodbye again so quickly.**

**"You'll see me very soon, Harry," said Sirius, turning to him. "I promise you. But I must do what I can, you understand, don't you?"**

**"Yeah," said Harry. "Yeah...of course I do."**

**Sirius grasped his hand briefly, nodded to Dumbledore, transformed again into the black dog, and ran the length of the room to the door, whose handle he turned with a paw. Then he was gone.**

**"Severus," said Dumbledore, turning to Snape, "you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready...if you are prepared..."**

**"I am," said Snape.**

**He looked slightly paler than usual, and his cold, black eyes littered strangely.**

**"Then good luck," said Dumbledore, and he watched, with a trace of apprehension on his face, as Snape swept wordlessly after Sirius.**

**It was several minutes before Dumbledore spoke again.**

**"I must go downstairs," he said finally. "I must see the Diggorys. Harry--take the rest of the potion. I will see all of you later."**

**Harry slumped back against his pillows as Dumbledore disappeared. Hermione, Ron, and Mrs. Weasley were all looking at him. None of them spoke for a very long time.**

**"You've got to take the rest of your potion, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said at last. Her hand nudged the sack of gold on his bedside abinet as she reached for the bottle and teh goblet. "You have a good long sleep. Try and think about something else for awhile...think about what you're going to buy with your winnings!"**

**"I don't want that gold," said Harry in an expressionless voice. "You have it. Anyone can have it. I shouldn't have won it. It should've been Cedric's."**

**The thing against which he had been fighting on and off ever since he had come out the maze was threatening to overpower him. He could feel a burning, prickling feeling in the inner corners of his eyes. He blinked and stared up at the ceiling.**

**"It wasn't your fault, Harry," Mrs. Weasley whispered.**

**"I told him to take the cup with me," said Harry.**

**Now the burning feeling was in his throat too. he wished Ron would look away.**

**Mrs. Weasley set the potion down on the bedside cabinet, bent down, and put her arms around Harry. He had no memory of ever being hugged like this, as though be a mother. The full wieght of everything he had seen that night seemed to fall in upon him as Mrs. Weasley held him to her. His mother's face, his father's voice, the sight of Cedric, dead on the ground all started spinning in his head until he could hardly bear it, until he was screwing up his face against the howl of misery fighting to get out of him.**

**There was a loud slamming noise, and Mrs. Weasley and Harry broke apart. Hermione was standing be the window. She was holding something tight in her hand.**

**"Sorry," she whispered.**

**"Your potion, Harry," said Mrs. Weasley quickly, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand.**

**Harry drank it in one gulp. The effect was instantaneous. Heavy , irresistible waves of dreamless sleep broke over him; he fell back onto his pillows and thought no more.  
**

A/N: That's all for now, sorry! Will post more soon!


	4. IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE PLEASE READ!

**A/N:**

**So, I've been going through my fanfics, sorting through them to see what I want to keep going with, and which I don't.**

**And I'm feeling kinda borderline on this one.**

**What do you guys think? Should I continue? Should I give it away to one of you?**

**Or should I just scrap it and leave it as is, never to be updated again?  
**

**Write a review or send me a message or email me at Amydapinkpanther at yahoo with your opinion.  
**

**The next time I update this story will be to either announce whether I am going to continue, trash, or give this story away for adoption.  
**

**And thanks so much to those of you read, reviewed, and/or liked the story so far. You guys are great.**

**~Amy  
**


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